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App of the Week: An App for the Appetite

By Roy Furchgott April 27, 2009 4:26 pmApril 27, 2009 4:26 pm

For adventurous cooks, there is no frustration like spotting a tantalizing ingredient at the grocers and having no idea how you might use it. Like that softball-sized bulb fennel calling out from the produce section.

If you have an iPhone and the free Epicurious app, you can check with the staff at Bon Appétit, Gourmet, and assorted chefs. The app allows you to search 25,000 recipes – all reputedly tested by Epicurious staff or its partners – to find your dish and create a shopping list on the spot.

There are several ways to search; by ingredient, cuisine, dietary requirements, or occasion, for instance. Search terms can be combined, so that the 651 fennel recipes, can then narrowed to 312 main courses with fennel, then 45 healthy recipes. Sea Bass and Spicy Tomato over Braised Fennel, anyone?

There are also categories like “I Can Barely Cook,” “Party Snacks” or “Dishes Kids Love,” so it’s not just for the epicurious, but the epi-inept as well.

The app, which becomes available today for iPhone and iPod touch, isn’t as intuitive as it might be. To make an instant shopping list you have to tap an unlabeled plus sign, which then gives you an option menu. And it would be nice if it offered nutritional information for the recipes.

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